Dam Committee Investigations.

The report of the committee on the construction of the Charles River dam will be filed in January, and until that time nothing definite can be done about the matter.

A large force of engineers, chemists and bacteriologists, under the charge of Mr. Freeman, chief consulting engineer, has been at work during the summer. As no satisfactory chart existed, a thorough survey and sounding was made of the basin and its tributary canals, and a chart was constructed similar to those of the Coast Survey. The currents in the harbor have also been carefully studied and charted.

One of the chief objections to the building of the dam has been the fear that sewage would accumulate in the basin. With a view to ascertaining the truth of this statement, chemical and bacteriological analyses of the water were made under various tidal conditions, especially in regard to the dissolution of sewage in still fresh water; and all the sewers opening into the basin and its tributaries were examined both in dry weather and in storm overflows. The temperature of the water has been systematically watched all summer.

The amount of detailed work has been much larger than was at first expected because of the incompleteness of the official and semi-official information. The last public hearing was held early in October, and from now on the committee expects to have frequent meetings to consider these facts and prepare the final report.